United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
IrelandGood Work explains why a bond selloff doesn't stay on Wall Street
Dan Toomey brings financial experts into a comedy-heavy investigation of government debt and the borrowing costs that reach everyone else.
Good Work
Story of Why this story? 1,439,806 views so far, and here is what is inside it.
A crisis so boring it could ruin everything
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 1:40Robin Wigglesworth defines a bond as a tradeable loan, introducing how governments borrow from investors.
- 2:12Falling bond prices mean rising yields, increasing the cost of borrowing.
- 4:21Government bond markets influence borrowing costs throughout the wider economy.
- 5:35Toby Nangle uses France's debt struggles and Britain's 2022 gilt crisis to explain the risks of investor distrust.
- 8:09The US discussion examines rising federal debt and the distinction that America borrows in dollars it can create.
- 10:49Charles Calomiris argues that Medicare, Social Security and defense spending drive structurally growing deficits.
Dan Toomey interviews Robin Wigglesworth projected onto the pages of his own book. It is an appropriately odd introduction to a financial market whose everyday importance, Good Work argues, is much greater than its entertainment value.
The episode, "A crisis so boring it could ruin everything," starts with a useful definition. "Well a bond is just a tradeable loan," Wigglesworth explains. Governments borrow by issuing bonds, and investors can sell those promises to repay to someone else. When bond prices fall, their yields rise, making borrowing more expensive. Wigglesworth's central point is that those costs reach beyond government finances and into borrowing across the economy.
Toomey then joins Financial Times writer Toby Nangle for the mock news segment "The Nangle Angle." France's debt struggles and Britain's 2022 gilt crisis supply examples of what happens when investors lose confidence in government IOUs. The presentation is a parody; the discussion concerns real financial pressures.
The American section turns to federal debt passing $40 trillion. Financial-crises expert Charles Calomiris argues that deficits are structurally set to grow because of spending on Medicare, Social Security and defense. Wigglesworth also explains an important distinction: the US borrows in dollars and can create dollars itself. The episode's warning is about borrowing costs and persistent fiscal pressures, not simply a government running out of cash like a household.
The video has drawn about 1.4 million views. It includes a paid segment for Zocdoc, separate from the bond-market explanation.
Calomiris also manages to unsettle his interviewer by suggesting his age. Toomey's response briefly displaces the national debt: "I'm not a millennial, sir, I'm a grown adult."
Published on Trari
Where next?
Is this your channel?For the channel's owners and team: a ready picture and text for your audience
Share the story with your audience. Everything is ready:
For an Instagram story or a WhatsApp status
For a community post or your channel's description
- Channel
- Good Work
- Subscribers
- 1,710,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 7,221,010
- Channel views, pace per day
- 1,474,998 (on a normal day: 751,528)
- Video published
- October 23, 2026
- Video views so far
- 1,439,806 (4 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 188,872 (on a normal day: 346,897)
The numbers
Here is the audience for Good Work's bond-market investigation, alongside viewing across the channel.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which country's government bonds are known as gilts?
Gilts are UK government bonds, the market discussed in the episode's account of the 2022 crisis.